Page 74 of Callan

It’s all done in purpose.

I’m not hiding.

Itisa game, isn’t it?

They want to know my next move, while I want to see how long it takes them to become impatient and make mistakes, creating an opportunity for me to strike back.

I stop in front of the door and listen.

It’s a rowdy crowd inside, and I’m surprised no one has called the police.

I slide my coat off, run my fingers through my hair, and push the door open before letting my eyes coast over the guests.

Wearing a red dress and sexy heels, Carmen glances over her shoulder and quickly notices me.

It’s like she has expected me to arrive just about now.

What do I know?

She might have her own informants. I never confirmed with her that I’d be here.

Her eyes flicker with delight.

“Charlie??” she says, all excited.

I thought it was only fitting to use a fake name.

This way, if anyone talked after getting some information about the heist and my real name from their boss––which is rather unlikely––I could follow that lead and find out who was hiding in the shadows.

I went over a long list of people who could’ve devised this ploy to taunt me and send me on a wild goose chase.

Enemies.

Business partners.

Newcomers.

Rookies who didn’t know any better.

Alistair and I checked every name, but nothing fit the context.From a mistake I made to a heist executed rather clumsily by a beautiful woman, to her douchebag lover––Carmen’s husband––and now Carmen, who seems to be in cahoots with all sorts of people, we’ve seen this story changing in so many ways.

Unfolding, unraveling, and offering new leads before eventually remaining a big puzzle that still needs to be solved as much as the necklace needs to be found.

The woman puts her best smile on as she twirls around and inches closer to me, welcoming me with open arms.

Men and women shift their focus to us. I don’t know any of them, as our worlds don’t overlap.

One of the things I learned from my father and the entire reason we have built a business empire was to hide our secret lives. Bury our crimes so deep that no one could guess who we were and what we were doing.

His intentions of pulling us out of a life of crime were honorable and genuine, but his death has proved to us that life isn’t always about what we want.

As much as we’ve tried to keep our family name clean, avoid the long arm of the law, and stay out of any conflicts, we couldn’t prevent every danger from coming our way.

To regular people, we’re still upstanding citizens who pay taxes and make donations to worthwhile causes, but underneath that veneer, dark poison drips.

And some of that poison has brought some unsavory character to our door.

It’s just that I still don’t know who that person is.

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